Edition 2 - Autumn 2023
Welcome to One 24-7
One 24-7 is about keeping the valued staff and contractors of Care 24-7 informed and connected. We hope it encourages you to keep doing a great job, by recognising and celebrating our successes and sharing our stories! We’d welcome your suggestions and feedback at oneteam@care24-7.net.au.
In this issue
Five Fast Facts with Michelle
Memorable moments on shift
“Wait less” focus for new campaign
Amuse Bouche with Jarrod
Staff social snaps
Pets of our people
Welcome, to our second One 24-7.
This seasonal update is just one of the ways we’re responding to your survey feedback asking for improved communication between our sites and our people.
On this note, another Pulse survey is underway for Care 24-7 doctors, reception and corporate administration staff. Please take part if you can.
I’m pleased to share that patient experience at both sites remains incredibly positive.
In January, 93.15% of patients were “Likely/Very Likely to Recommend” our services across both Buderim and Adelaide, against a rolling 12-month average of 91.84%. December’s recommendation result was also high at 93.3%.
Our overall Arrival to Provider figures improved by 10 minutes in January – a tremendous achievement considering the high volumes of patients treated.
There are still some challenges in this space, however we are moving in the right direction…
Pleasingly, we received no negative feedback to the increased Emergency Presentation Fee at Buderim. In other welcomed news up north, the new coffee machine has arrived and has been getting a great workout ever since!
Based on your feedback, the team continues to press forward with resource planning activities to help ease the pressure felt by the frontline, with a mix of different resourcing options including the relaunched Doctor Incentive Program. Please email me if you’d like more information.
To support our nursing and reception teams and add to the patient (and family) experience, we are engaging with our partners to re-introduce volunteers to the ED environment following a COVID-induced hiatus.
Ultimately, having access to capable volunteers to manage some of those necessary-but-menial tasks will free up our people to focus on providing great care to our patients and their families.
Stay tuned as we pilot this in Adelaide…
Other ways we’re responding to your survey comments:
- Setting a regular rhythm for Reception Team meetings;
- Improving the quality of the Doctors meetings, including a major focus on education and training;
- Hosting quarterly social get-togethers – a well-earned opportunity for you to relax and breathe with your colleagues.
If you’re out in Adelaide over the next few weeks, you may see some familiar Care 24-7 faces on billboards about town and on social media. With Calvary’s support, we’re investing in a campaign aimed at increasing walk-in patient presentations. If you’re on Facebook or LinkedIn, please follow our pages and Like and Share our posts!
In closing, thank you for helping to make Care 24-7 a great place to be, for our staff and our patients. We are showing our communities, and our peers, what first-class emergency care looks like, and we can all be very proud of what we’re achieving together.
One patient, one family at a time, our team continues to show how caring for people in their time of greatest need can be done with efficiency and professionalism, but also great heart.
Since our first issue of One 24-7, we have certainly had plenty happening.
In Adelaide, we are now meeting SA Health’s new data collection requirements, with every discharged patient receiving a SmartE survey.
Our response rate is excellent, with people willingly taking the time to let us know about their experiences.
At both sites, compliments are more prevalent than complaints – a deserved reason to celebrate and testament to the quality care we’re providing, even during periods of high patient demand.
Studies show a strong correlation between a patient’s perception of care quality and actual care quality. What’s more, we know that emergency physicians who can establish patient trust within minutes have more enjoyable shifts and their patients are more likely to adhere to aftercare plans.
Positive responses energise us. Offset burnout. They remind us of why we do what we do.
Ultimately, knowing how our patients feel about their care can help us remember why we went into healthcare in the first place.
In December, we met with commanders from the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) to look at trends and pain points for ED presentations across Adelaide, plus opportunities for improvement. The result? Care 24-7 experienced a 13.9% increase in patient volumes through Calvary in January. We have also introduced a new T (twilight) shift for surge periods.
In Buderim, the new M (mid) shift is working well in smoothing out the patient care process. Work continues with our IT partners in terms of auto-scanning capability and the Buderim Journey Board. Patient numbers in Buderim continue to be strong, with excellent year on year growth.
As Paul mentioned, we continue to consider the sentiments you shared in the staff survey, acting where we can.
We’ve recommenced our Doctors Meetings (pictured) and shifted the focus of these to be more about impact and training. The first meeting, in Adelaide, concentrated on internal and external learning with Dr Deiwi Lin (Urologist Specialist) as our guest presenter. I enjoyed presenting on endocrine emergencies.
You may have heard in the SA media recently about the proposed introduction of new public pathways to decant the public emergency system, such as Priority Care Centres and Virtual EDs. We are watching these developments closely to assess any potential associated impact on our sites.
Thank you for your contribution to Care 24-7. For pushing through, with the utmost professionalism, on busy shifts. For continuing to care when fatigue sets in. Thank you for making the “and more” in the care we provide, possible.
Our 'model ED' in media mention
The notion of treating every patient as family, is ingrained in our Care 24-7 DNA. We do this well. It’s reflected in the consistently positive feedback we receive, like this letter in the media last month.
We thank Neil for his words and wish him all the best for his recovery and a swift return home.
Name: Michelle Hooper
Role: Practice Manager
Location: Buderim Private Hospital Emergency Centre
Care 24-7 start date: October 2022
1. Tell us, what tops your bucket list?
To travel overseas…
2. Think of a person you look up to. Why do they inspire you?
My grandparents. Right up into their 70’s they were hard working dairyfarmers. Seven days a week, they would get up at 4am to milk the cows, then they’d do it all again in the afternoon. In between, grandad would attend to the farm and move all the irrigation pipes – by hand. This was a big job! To have had the opportunity to grow up in this environment, to experience both country and city life, was a real privilege. Both my sets of grandparents were hard workers and had been together since they were all 17. This year my grandmother turned 88 and my grandad passed away a few years ago.
3. What do you do to relax after a tough day?
I like to listen to music, go to the beach or do some yoga.
4. What influenced you to choose this professional path?
I grew up with my father being in the Army. He was a staff sergeant for 20 years in the Medic core. I spent plenty time on the base with the doctors and nurses while at work with my dad. From then I knew I wanted to work in the health profession.
5. What motto or mantra do you like to live by?
In a world where you can be anything, be kind!
Go - for clinical recruitment
Care 24-7 has engaged several recruitment agencies to help us track down physicians with the right qualifications and character fit to join our team.
We’re also keen to take recommendations from you, our Care 24-7 family, on professional contacts you know who might welcome a tap on the shoulder.
Empowering you to use your expertise and initiative, while providing an environment where patients’ medical issues can be solved more quickly, are the principles that Care 24-7 was founded on.
If you know of a suitably qualified physician who shares our values and would welcome the opportunity to work with us, please email CEO Paul Langley.
Memorable moments on shift
A woman of an expeienced age casually mentioned that she would like to layby her ED account.
Being younger, many of our team members weren’t familiar with this concept. At all.
Blank faces ensued.
Given you don’t get to take a laybuy item home until it’s paid for, our Adelaide Practice Manager Kay Wilkey joked with our ED visitor that it would be “a little difficult to keep you in the ED all that time…”
Can you think of a memorable moment on shift? Please email us at: oneteam@care24-7.net.au
Ad campaign focuses on "wait less"
With the support of Calvary Adelaide, we’re excited to be investing in a new awareness campaign during March and April.
The campaign focuses on the idea of “wait less”, with people able to scan a QR code and go straight through to a revamped website page that shows live wait times.
It’s also about demonstrating that our passionate professionals behind Care 24-7 genuinely care.
The ads will run across the following media:
- Outdoor (inc bus shelters, with people able to scan a QR code to see live wait times, and mega digital billboards in high-profile locations)
- Social media
- Spotify (audio)
- Digital (for example on the Nine News website)
Our sincere thanks to Dr Dilyara Mulraney, Dr Mark Fuidge, Dr Alison Kent, Dr Jarrod Koh and Dr Sharad Pandit for finding the time to be in our photo shoot.
If you’re on LinkedIn and/or Facebook, please Like and/or Share our campaign posts!
We’re a diverse bunch, with many of our team having interests and skills that could surprise (and even shock!) our colleagues.
‘Amuse Bouche’ goes behind the mask and scrubs to find the exciting unknown talents hiding among us…
When Jarrod Koh isn’t heading up the Calvary Adelaide ED – or enjoying time out with his wife and six children – he likes to dabble in photography.
When we say: “dabble in”, we really mean shine at. Literally.
Jarrod’s photographic flair has been recognised with several awards. His ‘Bluey’ image (top right) took out the Wide Field Astrophotography section at the Central West Astronomical Society’s David Malin Awards.
His breath-taking image of a lightning strike near the family’s Middleton home (right), aptly named ‘Crackle and Pop’, was short-listed in the 2022 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer Awards (monochrome section).
Incredible, Jarrod!
Hospital-a-phobe Jess cured with our care
Before 2022, Jessica Beare had never set foot in a hospital apart from the time she gave birth in one.
Fortunately, the active osteopath from Golden Beach on the Sunshine Coast had always enjoyed good health. Whether it was swimming, riding her bike, or walking to the playground with her beautiful daughter, exercise was a given. Every day.
Early last year, Jessica developed an unassuming abscess on her leg due to an inflammatory condition. Little did she know, she was about to become very familiar with hospital wards and emergency rooms in the area.
Over the next 12 months, Jessica would undergo two surgeries on her leg. Each time, the wound needed to be checked regularly afterwards.
“Last year I went to the public hospital ED five or six times,” Jessica said. “Even though they did the best they could, it felt very busy. I sometimes wondered if I was even going to get seen…”
Staff social snaps
As regular staff get-togethers become diary fixtures, you are invited to share these moments with the rest of the team through One 24-7. Please email them to: oneteam@care24-7.net.au.
Thanks to Kay Wilkey, our Practice Manager in Adelaide, for sending in these photos from a get-together at The Original Coopers Alehouse Inn. Wonderful to see smiling faces all round!
Pets of our people
Paul Quigley, Nursing Unit Manager in Adelaide, loves having housemates who never fail to entertain.
If you saw issue 1 of One 24-7, Paul enjoys taking his dogs, Sasha and Wallace, to the beach to unwind after work. (And we may have mistakenly called Sasha, Barry. Barry is actually Sharad Pandit’s dog. Oops – sorry, Sasha! No hard feelings, hey?)
We can see here who really rules the roost at Paul’s place – poor Wallace relegated to the floor by HRH Phoenix!
Who is your furry or feathered companion? Share a pic of them here.
